About 1,000 immigrants sought permanent residency status in Cambridge in 2022, which over the previous four-year span represents the biggest change among all municipalities in Waterloo region, according to a new report.
The numbers were released last month in the 2024 Immigration Profile published by the Region of Waterloo, which identifies immigration as the largest factor in local population growth.
Overall, immigrants seeking permanent residency status in Cambridge rose 138 per cent over the four-year period.
Waterloo region welcomed 7,785 new permanent residents in 2022. That's about double the number of PR seekers arriving in 2018, according to data contained in the profile from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.
Kitchener welcomed 4,800 immigrants seeking PR status in 2022, an increase of 107 per cent over 2018, while Waterloo welcomed 1,870 in 2022, a 60 per cent increase since 2018.
The townships experienced a 113 per cent increase in immigrants seeking PR status between 2018 and 2022.
Most Cambridge newcomers chose to live in the north end of the city, which experienced nearly 13 per cent growth from recent immigrants between 2016 and 2021.
Neighbourhoods with the highest proportion of recent immigrants were the downtown Kitchener neighbourhoods of Victoria Hills, Cherry Hill, Grand River Hospital and Vanier-Rockway.
Other data reveals the vast majority of immigrants who settled in Cambridge and sought permanent residency status in the four years after 2018 did it for economic reasons.
Improving economic prospects was the biggest factor by far motivating newcomers to Cambridge.
That factor increased 310 per cent between 2018 and 2022, followed by family as the main reason at 43 per cent.
Overall, economic factors were mentioned by about half of all immigrants as the reason they sought permanent residency status in Waterloo region.
At the same time, income, housing and employment are identified as key challenges for the newcomer population with about 15 per cent of recent immigrants living below the low-income threshold.
Recent immigrants, however, had a higher level of education, with 65 per cent holding a post-secondary certificate, diploma, or degree, compared to 58 per cent among established immigrants and 53 per cent among Canadian-born individuals.
Most immigrants coming to Waterloo region came from India and most of those were study permit holders.
Over the four year period represented in the report, "international mobility" accounted for a 67.9 per cent increase in permit applications from Indian immigrants. That number rose from 1,625 in 2018 to 4,975 in 2022.
Study permit holders from India rose 71.4 per cent, jumping from 7,035 in 2018 to 20,285 in 2022.
China was second on the list for country of origin for students in 2022 with 2,370 study permit holders arriving in Waterloo region. That number represents a 16.9 per cent decrease over 2018.
Tera Bedard, executive director of the Waterloo Region Immigration Partnership, presented the report to regional council last month and said the profile is produced every census cycle using data from Statistics Canada and other sources.
She said it's an important planning tool for the region as it engages with newcomers and aligns its services to meet their needs.
It connects to the region's plan for growing with care "to support the delivery of equitable services," she said.
Regional councillor Doug Craig, however, believes the most recent numbers are more a reflection of growth "that we're not coping with very well," particularly around the surge in international students.
Although it's not reflected in the 2024 immigration profile, Conestoga reportedly admitted over 30,000 international students in 2023.
"Some of the community services are being overwhelmed by this factor," Craig said, referring to reports of foreign students seeking help from food banks and soup kitchens to supplement their meals.
"I think we have to deal with that somehow, through Conestoga College, or whatever it may be, and start talking about that and resolving it."
He asked Bedard to report back on the impact students have had on the community and also called it distressing to think refugees are coming here and having to seek free lunches at churches.
"It doesn't seem to be a very supportive way of welcoming people to Canada when we stick them in shelters for a period of time," he said.
Bedard agreed and said those impacts are a regular part of the conversation at the Waterloo Region Immigration Partnership, which has worked with post secondary institutions and other service providers to piece together all the supports available to the international student population so it can redirect them away from community-based service providers.
The region is currently looking at other ways to reduce the service gaps for both the refugee and international student population, she said.
